Violence soars on trains

Violence and theft on trains and the Tube have soared to record levels, a report reveals today.

The shock statistics come in a report which reveals British Transport Police is facing a cash crisis.

And train operating companies come under fire for refusing to provide the cash needed to invest in the force.

The criticism is contained in a scathing report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspectorate of Constabulary.

The crimes which went up include:

Thefts rose 30 per cent to 32,0645, the equivalent of four every hour on trains and the Tube - but just one in every 40 results in an arrest.

Violence is up by 20 per cent from 6,148 incidents to 7,458, meaning officers are dealing with 20 violent crimes every day. Yet despite the rises the transport police were singled out for praise, saying their record on the most serious offences was "very good" and that officers showed " professional competence and confidence".

But the train operators were damned by the inspectors for their attitude towards the 2,186-strong force.

With the sole exception of London Underground, the companies are branded "loath to fund the force to the required level" - leaving its officers with "impoverished and inadequate" infrastructure which is "groaning" under the strain.

Systems for dealing with 999 and other phone calls are in "acute crisis," the inspectors warned. The report says: "Solutions to key questions have been delayed and the force is left with an infrastructure that is impoverished and inadequate. Call handling and IT and communications generally need more money and attention and the capacity to manage projects and change had the methodology but not the people."

Worryingly, it says "little has been done" to make sure key computer systems would continue to operate in the aftermath of a terrorist strike - despite the transport system being recognised as a key target.

The report also warns that the force's ability to deal with routine crime was being hampered by its commitment to investigating major rail crashes and called for a review into whether it should continue to be involved in such inquiries.

Despite the massive problems it faces, the force had scored a significant success, slashing robbery by 30 per cent, far ahead of the national reduction of three per cent.

British Transport Police chief constable Ian Johnston said: "This is a helpful report that both recognises where we have done well and points out areas where we need to improve."

He added: "At times we do struggle because of the lack of funding and people. Having said that there are aspects of our performance highlighted by the report which can be radically improved without additional funding.

" The way we manage human resources, project management and our business continuity plans are among those."

A Transport Department spokesman said it was already reviewing how the transport police were funded but said funding this year has increased by almost £ 25million and there will an extra 100 officers on the Tube.

He added that the Government had also paid £4.6 million to fund new transport police radio systems and antiterrorist vehicles and equipment and £3.3 million over three years to fund the fight against street crime in and around Tube and major rail stations in London.